


your green eyes on my red face

by happymedium



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: AU, F/F, Meet-Cute, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-12
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-09-23 21:58:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9680762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happymedium/pseuds/happymedium
Summary: Kara does not like the bus. Until she does.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story doesn’t follow the shows timeline, and it’s not very canon compliant.  
> Whadyagonnado ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Kara does not like the bus.  
  
It’s always too busy, and too noisy, and its non-stop juddering is enough to make even a Kryptonian travel sick.  
  
Really, the novelty of taking the bus had worn off when she was thirteen. The first (and coincidentally the last) time she had gone to school with Alex in that yellow hunk of scrap metal.  
  
For the first five minutes it was… tolerable.  
  
Then there was ‘spit’ balls flying and kids screaming, Rao, why did kids on Earth scream so much?  
  
It had taken all of her self-restraint and the reassuring pressure of Alex’s hand in hers to stop her from turning around, lowering her glasses and using her heat vision and just— she rode Alex’s bike after that, much to her sisters chagrin.  
  
But since her bike was back in Midvale; the bus would have to do.  
  
Maybe at the time, burning a huge hole in the ground just to prove a point seemed like a good idea; in hindsight, not so much.  
  
Still, blow-outs like this normally lasted for only a week or two at most, she’d be back to flying in no time.  
  
The bus lurches to yet another stop, and really, it wasn’t as though Kara had already been on the bus for 20 minutes and was still another 5 stops before she needed to get off (when her lease was up she was moving closer to the city, for sure).  
  
A few passengers got off allowing a couple more on in their place.  
  
Kara wasn’t paying too much attention; staring out of the window willing herself to heal quicker, or the bus to just go already, when she feels somebody— a young woman— slip into the spare seat next to her.  
  
The woman has just about sat down when from her satchel, she pulls out a thick text book and an orange highlighter pen, swiping away at it so quickly it was a question if she even knew what she was highlighting.  
  
It kind of reminds her the books Alex used to have, probably still does somewhere.  
  
It has all of the same looking, long winded and complicated formulas. Except where Alex's annotations are messy scribbles in any white space available, and the strangers notes are neat and tidy in the margins.  
  
She must have been staring, because the marker in the woman's hand went still for a moment and from the corner of her eye Kara notices the woman looking at her with bright and charming eyes. All she can do out of embarrassment is clear her throat and go back to looking out of the window, her cheeks flushing a deep red, as the bus pulls away from the curb.  
  
The bus crawls along in the rush hour traffic; every pot hole it goes over seemingly bigger than the last  
  
Learning to ignore how big and loud everything felt on Earth wasn’t easy for a thirteen year old alien but she had done it, mastered it even, except all of the techniques she had learned were apparently coming undone by a 30 minute bus journey.  
  
Kara tries to concentrate on something else to distract her, she even opens her own notepad in an unconvincing attempt to work, to prepare for her important job interview next week.  
  
The woman next to her does a better job though, the glide of her pen and the little mutterings to her self gives her something else to focus on, rather than the clanking metal and juddering seats.  
  
She’s not sure how it happens (considering it’s the bus) but the next thing she knows, it’s 5 stops later and the bus is just about to pull away again before it registers with Kara that she’s actually on the bus for, y’know, a reason.  
  
‘Wait, wait!’ she blurts out, leaping to her feet.  
  
The woman beside her, the Pretty Stranger, looks at her amused, before she stands up and to the side to let her clamber past.  
  
Kara mumbles an embarrassed apology to the drive, the sour look on his long and red face was enough to make even a Kryptonian flinch.     
  
When she glances back to her bench to check she’s left nothing behind, she sees the woman smiling to herself, and Kara swears it only gives her a small thrill. 

 

  
*

  
  
Work is… the same as usual.  
  
Kara pours coffee after coffee with a smile and a flourish, only to be ignored by her customers as they filter in and out through the morning and into the afternoon.  
  
When its time to clock out, she doesn’t even pretend to think about staying to cover her friend’s shift, just smiles apologetically and flicks her wrist in a wave as she zips out of the door.  
  
Of course, the bus is late.  
  
It finally pulls up only 15 minutes later, the only thing that redeems her journey is that at least it’s not as crowded as her morning commute. She gives the bus a quick once over, then ends up sitting next to a sleeping older gentleman who is— yep, drooling, into the open palms on his lap.  
  
It was a long shot to think Pretty Stranger from this morning would be on her commute home too, after all, National City is a big place.  
  
There was something familiar about the woman though, as if Kara knew her from somewhere, and something comforting. It could have been the books she carried, that reminded her of Alex in a way, but it wasn’t. It’s something more than that.  
  
Still, it’s not a complete bust.  
  
In the forty minute ride home she actually does manage a little bit of preparation for the interview, and she’s actually feeling a lot more confident about it.  
  
Working at Noonans has been a good gig, but that job (alongside writing the odd piece here and there for an online website she’s pretty sure has had about 50 hits in it’s two years) wasn’t exactly what she pictured she’d still be doing after she’d graduated.  
  
The big interview is only for a Personal Assistant role granted, but once she’s got a foot on the ladder, she can work her way up from there. Either way, having CatCo Worldwide Media on her resume would definitely open the right doors.  
  
The bus lurches, and Sleepy Old Man shifts into her side and drips on her lap.  
  
It could be worse, she supposes.  
  
Then again, it is only Monday.  
  


  
*

  
  
Tuesday; her powers still aren’t back, and when she wakes up she feels like she’s been hit by a freight train.  
  
Kara’s whole body aches, her head throbs, and her nose is so stuffed she feels as though she’ll never breathe through it ever again. She’d forgotten that her immune system rivals that of a baby when she’s stripped of her powers.  
  
When she gets on the bus and scores a seat, she’s not even that surprised when people are actively avoiding sitting next to her, even as the bus fills up.  
  
Good— she thinks— she doesn’t want a repeat of Monday afternoon, when some dude in a sharp suit had man-spread all over into her space with his too-loud music and overpowering cologne.  
  
Except someone does sit next to her, and when she looks up it’s the Pretty Stranger from the day before last, who smiles at her warmly before sitting down and reaching for something to read in her bag.  
  
Kara stills; a mixture of relief and embarrassment washing over her. Relieved because of anybody who it could have been it was her. And embarrassed because, well, she doesn’t exactly look (or sound) the bill of clean health.  
  
The woman doesn’t look deterred though, and after a few quick moments Kara’s heart has chance to even itself out.  
  
For most of the way, they sit in silence (barring the odd sniffle here and there from Kara). Pretty Stranger isn’t reading her text book today, but instead has a copy of the Tribune in her lap, opened up to the crossword.  
  
They sit in silence, that is, until suddenly Kara’s engaged in an epic sneezing fit she didn’t think was even possible.  
  
She rubs at her watering eyes with the base of her palm, and when she’s calm and composed, she notices again the Pretty Stranger with her hand held out in front of her, offering her a packet of tissues.  
  
Gratefully Kara takes it from her, plucking two or three for herself before trying to pass the packet back.  
  
‘Oh, you can keep them,’ the woman says, holding up her hands, ‘you might need them more than I do,’  
  
Kara ducks her head bashfully,  ‘Thanks’  
  
‘I’m Lena,’ Pretty Stranger says, loud enough for her to hear over the din of the bus; quiet enough it feels like it’s a name reserved only for Kara.  
  
‘Kara,’ she replies, holding out a hand before quickly remembering herself and instead of a hand shake, she sort of ends up just awkwardly twisting her hands into a weird claw that she hopes resembles at least something like a wave.  
  
Judging from the look on Lena’s face she either finds it endearing, or is polite enough to just smile at her and ignore it. (She’s hoping on the former.)  
  
‘Have we met before?’ Kara asks bluntly, ignoring the voice at the back of her head telling her to just be cool, whilst rubbing the tip of her nose with the tissue, ‘I feel like I know you from somewhere,’  
  
Lena looks at her with surprise, before her expression relaxes and she points out that,  
  
‘Well, we do share the same bus every day…’ and Kara’s cheeks burn,  
  
‘No, that I know. It’s just— you seem familiar to me,’  
  
Her eyes flick up and down Kara with consideration, before she murmurs, ‘I’m sure I’d remember if we’d met before,’  
  
Those green eyes again, focused and sure, looking back at her; so sharp it’s almost as if she can see right through her.  
  
Kara has no time to dwell on the fact that the Pretty Stranger— Lena— is flirting with her though, because just like that, Lena glances back down to the crossword in her lap, and mumbles absently,  
  
‘Six across, Jupiters largest moon… any ideas?’  
  
Kara’s never been so grateful for a distraction, especially from the butterflies in her stomach.

  
*

  
By the time her stop comes around, in too little time, they’ve solved at least a third of the puzzle.  
  
‘This is me,’ she says, dejected.  
  
Lena stands and slips out of the seat to let Kara edge past, the same as the first time they met, and says,  
  
‘It was nice to talk to you, Kara. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow?’  
  
Kara nodded down at her, noting the barest hint of hesitation in her voice, and spent the rest of the morning trying not to overthink the way Lena’s eyes lit up when she replied:  
  
‘Definitely.’

  
*

  
Over the rest of the week, riding the bus together becomes kind of their thing.  
  
It starts out small, with friendly waves to each other in passing (one as Lena gets on, and as Kara gets off). Then it evolves into Kara saving her a seat where she can, and then even standing together if there’s no spares together.  
  
And it’s normally only in the morning when they bump into each other. Well, except when Kara’s not at work, or not busy at the DEO.  
  
Still, she always finds (an excuse) to get the bus, and if she just so happens to bump into Lena? Well, that’s just a happy coincidence.  
  
Lena had even joked about it one evening, ‘I’ve seen you more this week than I see my mother in the year!’  
  
Maybe she should have found it a little embarrassing, except when Lena had leaned in and mumbled that it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, instead she just found herself feeling all the more confident. 

  
*

  
  
Friday morning soon rolls around, and her big interview is on Monday.  
  
Lena has been nothing but helpful in helping her prepare. They had been talking about how their day had been going when Kara had let it slip about the job at Cat Co. She had been trying to keep it quiet in case she jinxed it, but it was nice to finally get excited about it with somebody else.  
  
The friends she’d made at Noonan’s were happy for her, and Alex had been super supportive, as usual. Except there’s only so much she can talk to Alex about without feeling like a broken record, and amongst the other baristas there was always the hint of resentment behind their words.  
  
Lena was an outlier; a fresh mind and perspective. Plus she doesn’t seem to mind, she seems to like listening to her, at least more than she enjoys talking about herself it seems.  
  
Kara’s learnt bits and pieces about her, like how she’s working on her Post Grad and works in ‘the family business’.  
  
Still, they feel like scraps in comparison to what she knows about Kara.  
  
They’re leaving the bus together at Kara’s stop, the one before Lena’s, (‘I could do with the extra walk, I’ve skipped the gym three times this week’) when it happens.  
  
Kara almost doesn't notice the 6”2’ man barge into her back; that is until she feels something bump her shoulder lightly, followed by followed by the clatter of metal and a man yelling at her from the sidewalk, ‘What the— you cracked my phone, you dumb bitch!’  
  
Lena moves in front of her in an instant, becoming a barrier between Kara and the jerk on the floor, and glares at him fiercely,  
  
‘Maybe if you watched where you’re going you wouldn’t trip over your own feet,’ she barks, and with one brisk movement links their arms together and steers Kara away down the sidewalk.  
  
‘Are you all right?’ Lena asks, untangling their arms and running her hands down Kara’s sleeves.  
  
‘Y-yes, I’m fine,’  
  
And she is fine, more than fine in fact.  
  
Apart from the ever-multiplying butterfly swarm in her stomach, she’s completely… back to normal.  
  
Crap.

  
  
*

  
Kara’s weekend was tiring, to say the least.  
  
Alex had told her that she was under strict instruction from J’onn: no using her powers until they had chance to complete her follow up exam and blood works.  
  
That meant no flying, which meant that for her Saturday morning shift she was stuck on the bus again. Not to mention that Lena had told her that she only works in the city during the week, which meant Kara had nothing to look forward to except finishing time at 2pm.  
  
Only that excitement was cut short when, as 2pm finally did roll around, she was escorted straight to the DEO for the aforementioned blood works and follow up exams that had spilled over into Sunday mid-afternoon.  
  
Kara had forgotten how much they had to test (like, everything).  
  
Monday had snuck up on her, and she would have almost completely missed her morning alarm had it not been for Alex, knocking on her door only fifteen minutes later, bringing with her a box of a dozen doughnuts,  
  
‘I thought you could use the sugar,’ she says, whilst they’re sat at the breakfast bar together,  
  
‘Have I ever told you you’re my favourite sister?’ Kara asks around a mouth full of Original Glaze,  
  
‘I’m your only sister,’  
  
Swallowing her mouthful she leans across the table and looks at her sister seriously,  
  
‘You’re my favourite sister,’  
  
Alex just laughs and shoves another doughnut in front of her.  
  
‘Hey, where’s Maggie this morning? Isn’t she attached to your hip or something…’  
  
‘I left her in bed, she’s had a tough couple of days at work. It’s weird, there’s been some suspicious items being delivered all of the city, all of them harmless, and with nothing to link them to each other. And it’s not just here; there’s been reports in Gotham, and Metropolis too.’  
  
‘Alien?’  
  
Alex shakes her head, ‘Not that they can tell. DEO is on standby, but they’re being whipped pretty hard,’  
  
Kara nods, then catches sight of the clock on the wall,  
  
‘Oh crap,’ she exclaims, scrambling off the stool, ‘I’m going to be late!’  
  
‘Your interview isn’t for another hour,’ Alex points out, as Kara flashes in and back out of her bedroom fully dressed, her dress settling in the breeze,  
  
‘I meant I’m going to be late for the bus,’ she explains, wobbling on one foot as she fiddles with her shoes  
  
‘Wait, I thought your powers were back? Kara, are you—’  
  
‘They are, I am!’  
  
Alex raises an eyebrow,  
  
‘And you’re still taking the bus?’  
  
‘It’s… therapeutic, okay?’ Kara fibs.  
  
From the look on her face Alex definitely does not believe her.  
  
So before she can be interrogated anymore, she squeezes her sister into a tight hug and kisses her cheek sloppily, then snatches her jacket from the hook and waves a goodbye as the door slams shut behind her.

 

  
*

 

  
Kara can’t be sure if she walks or floats out of the Cat Co building. The interview replaying itself over and over again in her mind.  
  
Cat Grant’s unimpressed and disinterested expression, and the way she had looked over her resume with pursed lips and a raised eyebrow.  
  
Kara was sure she’d blown it, she’d gone too hard in trying to convince Cat that she was ‘nothing special’ — as if Ms. Grant would be able to tell at a glance that she’s an alien (except, wasn’t that level of observation one of the reasons why Cat had made it so far)?  
  
Then, with the faintest hum, Cat set the paper down and slid it back across the table.  
  
‘You start on Monday, Kiera,’ she said, picking up her pen and sliding another paper in front of her, ‘That will be all,’  
  
The words still ring in Kara's ears.  
  
Fumbling for her phone, Kara flicks through her contacts until she finds Alex under the name ‘Super Sister’. The phone rings a few times before it goes to voicemail.  
  
She leaves a message that’s mainly compiled of incoherent blabbering and excited squeals, with ‘I got the job! Or Kiera did— but I’m Kiera! I’ll be Kiera!’ thrown somewhere in the middle.  
  
Even when the voicemail cuts her off, Kara still can’t stop smiling to herself. She scrolls a little further, her thumb hesitating over Lena’s number; the one she had given her this morning, under strict orders to let her know as soon as Kara heard anything.  
  
Instead, she opens a new message.  
  
**Kara [11:02]:**  
Hi Lena  
  
She finally taps out, after debating with herself over whether or not to go with hey or hi works better for a solid five minutes,  
  
**Kara [11:02]:**  
Guess who’s just became Personal Assistant to Cat Grant!!!  
  
**Kara [11:03]:**  
I did!!!  
  
**Kara [11:03]:**  
This is Kara btw,  
  
A little pencil in the corner of the chat pops up a moment later, and Lena’s response comes through as a number of square boxes and exclamation points, which she presumes is a good thing, and then her phone blips again,  
  
**Lena [11:05]:**  
What are you doing right now?  
  
That’s how she finds herself in some obscure coffee shop on the corner of Old Fifth Street, and with Lena pulling her into a hug as soon as she’s close enough. They settle into the same side of a corner booth with their drinks, and Lena turns to face her immediately,  
  
‘I still can’t believe it,’ Kara says in awe, shaking her head,  
  
‘Can I be the first to say, I had no doubt you’d be able to do it,’ Lena grins, ‘We have to celebrate! How do you feel about possibly dinner, some time?’  
  
She doesn’t even need to think of the answer,  
  
‘Yes, y-yes!’ Kara answers immediately, ‘That would be awesome,’  
  
Lena softens and visibly relaxes, her hand settling on the cushion between them.  
  
‘I can’t wait,’ Lena purrs thoughtfully.  
  
The way she’s looking at her is like they’re the only ones here, not surrounded by interns on their mid-afternoon coffee runs, and people on working lunches.  
  
Still, when Lena’s looking at her like that, it’s easy enough to forget where they are.  
  
As if she’s just remembering where they are, Lena straights her back and rests her elbow on the table, still keeping her focus on Kara,  
  
‘Now, tell me everything that happened,’

  
  
*

  
  
Later in the evening, she’s at Alex’s on the couch with her sister and Maggie.  
  
They’re supposed to be watching Jane the Virgin, with potstickers and pizza, and celebrating her new job.  
  
Except instead on one side of the couch, the couple are arguing over the seriousness that is if pineapple has a place on pizza, and on the other, Kara’s looking down at her phone with a smitten grin.  
  
Lena’s messaging her about still being at the office, and how she’s been thinking about where they could go for dinner. Whereas Kara’s trying to find the words to say she’d go anywhere, as long as it’s with her. Except, maybe not as cheesy.  
  
Maggie must ask her to weigh in on the debate, because Alex is nudging her in the ribs with her pointy elbow and chastising her for not taking her side,  
  
‘Please tell my girlfriend that she is wrong, and also gross,’ she says teasingly, the fondness in the way she says girlfriend still ever present, even after six months of being together.  
  
‘Maggie you are wrong, and also gross,’ Kara obliges robotically, still not looking up from her phone and Alex barks a cocky laugh, sticking her tongue out,  
  
‘Okay I call bullshit, I’ve seen you eat way worse than pineapple pizza plenty of times, little Danvers,’  
  
‘Save it babe,’ says Alex soothingly, squeezing one of the knees that’s settled across her lap, ‘She’s not listening. Too preoccupied with… whoever that is,’  
  
Kara scoffs, finally looking up,  
  
‘Who says it's anyone? I could be reading recipes or… tweeting. I tweet sometimes, that’s a thing people do,’  
  
‘Kara…’  
  
Maggie clears her throat and cocks her head to one side, ‘This doesn’t have anything to do with your bus crush, does it?’  
  
Kara splutters,  
  
‘Wait no, what? I don’t— how, how could you know that?’  
  
‘She's a detective Kara, she detects,’ Alex mumbles, and Maggie smirks back at her girlfriend conspiratorially.  
  
Well.  
  
There’s no use in denying it.  
  
Alex knows her better than anybody, and Maggie— well, she is a detective after all.  
  
‘Okay, well. I might have a date,’  
  
Next thing she knows, Alex is pushing Maggie’s legs off of her lap and in quick movements, suddenly she finds both women sitting cross legged and watching her with great interest, the Villanueva’s long forgotten.  
  
Kara rolls her eyes, but can’t help but laugh at their two excited smiles.  
  
So she tells them, trying to ignore the two’s shared looks of approval, and trying even harder to stop herself from blushing.  
  
After a while when she’s finally done talking, like she’s run out of words, Maggie rests into the side of the couch and offers her a lopsided grin,  
  
‘She sounds great, Kara,’  
  
Kara nods, then looks to Alex for… a reaction, reassurance, anything?  
  
Then, after a moment, she just takes Kara’s hand in her own and leans forward slightly,  
  
‘Kara, that’s… so gay,’ she says, so solemn and serious.  
  
Kara just lobs a pillow at her face in response, and the three of them dissolve into fits of laughter.

 

  
*

  
  
Later on, after they’ve finally stopped teasing Kara over her crush, and arguing over pizza toppings, and watched 4 and a half episodes of Jane the Virgin, Kara calls it a night.  
  
Maggie waves her a tired farewell from under her blanket on the couch as Alex walks her to the door.  
  
‘Text me when you get home, okay?’ Alex says, pulling her into a hug.  
  
Just as Kara pulls away and goes to leave, Alex tugs her back by the hem of her shirt,  
  
‘Seriously though, Kara? I’m glad you’re happy, Lena really does sound great,’  
  
‘Thanks Alex,’ she nods bashfully, and lets her sister reach out and fix her hair. When she steps over the threshold, she turns slightly and holds her hand up lamely, ‘You know, pineapple on pizza really isn’t that gross,’  
  
Unimpressed, Alex just closes the door in her face.  
  
And as she turns to walk down the corridor, she can’t help but imagine that maybe one day Lena could become a part of this, and Kara smiles to herself.

  
  
*

  
  
Lena isn’t on the bus the next day.  
  
In the morning Kara thinks she may have just missed her, but on the afternoon when she doesn’t show, she gets concerned.  
  
Now Lena hasn’t exactly been specific on where about she works but still, Kara considers maybe getting off at Lena’s stop and maybe wandering the sidewalks until she spots her. Except maybe that would be completely crazy.  
  
So instead, she texts her.  
  
**Kara [16:23]:**  
Hi! You weren’t on the bus today??? Hope everything’s okay!!!    
  
**Lena [16:47]:**  
Not feeling too great, working from home this week.  Xx  
  
**Kara [16:48]:**  
Oh, okay… Hope you’re feeling better soon!!!  
  
And she leaves at that, for Monday at least.  
  
Kara texts her over the next few days; letting her know what she missed on the bus, like when College Guy with Mustache gets on wearing an actual fedora. Mostly though, because she misses the conversation, she misses Lena.  
  
Lena’s replies are pretty sporadic, until after Wednesday afternoon they completely stop.  
  
Kara’s confident enough to know that Lena’s not avoiding her, but something is wrong,  and she tells Maggie as much down at the Precinct,  
  
‘I’m just— I’m worried, it’s as if she’s just, fallen off the face of the earth or something,’  
  
‘I mean I don’t think that’s possible but, sure,’ Maggie says, with a lopsided grin,  
  
Kara tips her head and the detective sobers,  
  
‘Listen, she’s not classed as a missing person until it’s been 24 hours, and it’s been…’  
  
‘About 14 hours,’ Kara mumbles, crossing her arms petulantly.  
  
‘I get it, you’re worried, but there could be a whole bunch of reasons why she’s not messaged you back. Just try not to stress, okay? I’m sure she’s— what is it?’  
  
Kara’s looking past Maggie and to the TV mounted on the wall, where the news plays silently in the background.  
  
There’s Lena, alive and well in Metropolis, her head held high and a stare as cutting as steel, looking more tired than Kara has known her to be. She stands beside an older well-dressed woman who appears to be giving a statement surrounded by men in suits and flashing cameras.  
  
The headline runs beneath,  
  
‘Luthor At Large Again’  
  



	2. Chapter 2

 

Lena didn’t mind taking the bus.

Of course it was always busy, and it has a distinct odour that’s familiar to public transport in general.

Still, no-one expects to find a Luthor on the bus.

That being said; she wasn’t as recognisable as her father was, or that her brother is.

(She is now.)

Lilian didn’t approve, although that was nothing new.

On the bus, she’s a no-body, and that suited her perfectly.

It all seems like a distant memory to her now.

Now that she’s holed up in her childhood bedroom, the outside world scratching at her door, begging for any scrap she might accidentally drop.

Closing her eyes, she counts to four in slow deep breaths just as she’d researched. Her hands grapple for something to hold onto and she backs herself up until she’s wilting into the wall for support.

Eventually when she can regain herself, she opens her eyes and takes a minute to look around.

It’s strange being back. It feels like a million years ago since she left, even with everything preserved exactly as she had left it (save for the bedding, of course), and in her closet there still hangs the odd articles of clothing she had left behind.

Lena’s gym bag sits on the floor, a hand-full of clothes thrown in it from when her mother had called.

In the car she had promised herself that this was all she would need, even if she knew she was lying to herself, in the far back of her mind.

No, it wasn’t going to blow over in a few days time, especially not when her brother was behind one of the biggest attempted genocides of the alien race.

In her pocket, her cell has been switched off for almost a whole day and a half, and when she finally works up the courage to turn it back on there’s a barrage of text messages and voicemails waiting for her.

There are a few important messages she really should get back too, but her eyes skim over them straight away and down to the five unread messages from Kara.

A lot of them are easy and light hearted, she jokes about this pretentious college graduate they share their commute with and Lena even feels the tug of a small smile at the corner of her mouth for the first time in days.

The last message is enough to make her falter. The last in a stream of messages came in the morning the headline broke.

For a fleeting moment, she had convinced herself that Kara didn't know, however deluded that was; that she hadn’t caught the news, or that didn’t now work for one of the biggest media conglomerates in National City.

Kara wasn’t part of the crooked, criminal past her family had built and swallowed Lena up in.

Instead, she was a part of her fresh start or well at least, as fresh of a beginning that she could have. And now what? Her colleagues, her new friends, her life; all muddied.

Someone knocks on her door and Lena’s seeing dots, her heart hammering in her chest.

When the knob turns, she only has a second to compose herself, and she goes from sagging against the wall, to standing up back ramrod straight and chin held high (although her knees still feel like buckling).

In marches her mother, holding herself as tall as Lena wishes she could, wearing her ever familiar tight-lipped sour expression,  
   
‘Am I not allowed one minute to myself?’ Lena growls, then rubs at her forehead wearily.

Lilian closes the door shut behind her, pointedly ignoring Lena as she crosses the room and peaks around the net curtains to the crowd of paparazzi camped outside of their gates.

‘Vultures,’ tuts Lilian, shaking her head, ’How did we let this happen?’

‘We?’ she scoffs, ‘I fail to see where my responsibilities lies in this,’  
   
‘If you had been here, instead of swanning around National City like some sort of Bohemian’— Lena rolls her eyes— ‘This could have all been avoided. He would have listened to you, you’ve always been his favourite.’  
   
‘I’m not his moral compass, and he only listened when I was saying what he wanted to hear.’

For a flicker of a moment Lilian almost looks uncertain, vulnerable. A colour Lena hasn’t seen her mother wear before.

Then she clears her throat, her sharp and unwavering gaze once again on Lena,

‘I suppose it doesn’t matter now, what’s done is done.’

‘So, what happens next?’

‘We’ll do what we always do’ she smiles.

It’s as comforting as a snakes.

 

 

*

 

  
Months pass in a blur, and the crowds don't get easier.

Her life becomes a torrent of photographers and microphones being shoved in her face without remorse. As if she doesn’t belong to herself anymore, like she isn't a person anymore.

Instead, she's a consolation prize to the infamous Lex Luthor who remains expertly hidden in the shadows.

The wolves write small articles on her, on her relationship with Lex, on what's she's wearing to court of all things. At least they are complimentary, at least in comparison to others.

Lena's read about so many versions of herself in the press she doesn't know where the lies end and the truth begins.

Although not everybody hates her, it seems.

They’re not really the kind of people she wants in her corner— bigots, anti-alien protestors— but if she can turn off her conscience and overlook the heinous comments they make on their twitters, some of their comments are… comforting.

It makes her feel awful.

 

  
*

 

  
In the end, she deactivates all her social medias.

A fresh start in Metropolis wouldn’t be easy, but she has to start somewhere.

Some adjustments are easier than others, like having security escort her everywhere but the bathroom is a lot harder than having a personal driver, she can’t exactly take the bus anymore; her face has been plastered in so many gossip magazines she’s starting to feel like she’ll never fade back into background.

Although the bus is not exactly something she’d miss.

In fact the only thing she had begun to enjoy about her commute was Kara.

There was an attraction she won’t deny, and Lena was certain she wasn’t kidding herself when she thought it was mutual.

Every so often she catches glimpses of her in the faces of strangers in the street, a part of her hopes that it is, except the other more rational part of her has to keep reminding her Kara is in National City; safe, and away from her and her family.

Kara’s number sits in her phone, a list of unanswered texts under her name.

A part of Lena is itching to reply to them all, one by one, let her know that she’s managing.

But again, the rational side is telling her she doesn’t deserve a friend like Kara. She doesn’t deserve to drag her into this mess, into the mud.

She deletes Kara’s number, and gets a new one herself.

 

 

*

 

  
The call comes a few days later, and when it disconnects she is CEO of LexCorp.

Anything else she was told beyond that is lost behind the pulse pounding in her ears.

It’s not real, it can’t be real.

Any moment Lena will wake up and she’ll still be in National City, and Lex will be back in Metropolis.

Distant as he became, and engrossed in his work, but still the kind boy and respectable man she knew.

 

A few weeks later she’s signing the documents and it’s all finalised on paper, the last string of hope she might’ve had, is severed.

A young woman greets her in the Reception on her first day

The girl introduces herself as Jess, and her personal assistant.

She is bright-eyed, and with so much quiet confidence that reminds her of Kara in a number different ways that it immediately puts her at ease.

Jess offers her a binder of documents and a smile, and then its time to get to work.

 

  
*

 

  
It’s been a little over a year.

Something Lena still can’t quite believe, but finally she feels something akin to normality seeping back into her life.

Five months since the trial happened, and Lex had been sentenced. Lilian had broken down in the court room, and Lena could only say she was impressed by the theatrics.

The paparazzi have found something new to focus on; apparently some new superhero has surfaced in National City, but it’s just far enough away from Metropolis that it doesn’t make the headlines, they just get a short exert written about them on the last page.

Lex isn’t mentioned, and neither is she. It’s all she can hope for.

It’s been a little over a year, and its time to go home.

Metropolis will never be home, and Gotham never really did appeal to her.

Plus, what better place to reinvent the company— her company— in the city she reinvented herself?

She tells Jess about the move back to National City a week later, when she walks into her office one unusually warm morning, bringing with her Lena’s morning latte and a brief recap of what her consists of.

Jess swallows nervously when Lena gently asks her to take a seat, so Lena is quick to reassure her that she isn’t being fired,

‘You’ve been a better assistant than I could have asked for, and you’ll always have a job at L-Corp for as long as you want one,’

With that promise alone she had hoped to ease a few concerns, but clearly it wasn’t the right thing to say when Jess only nods, a crease settled between her brows, and god, Lena was never good at this.

‘I don’t really know how I’ll replace you,’ Lena admits, ‘I don’t expect you would consider moving, would you?’

It’s her attempt at a joke, realistically it would be unreasonable to ask her assistant of all people to uproot their whole life for this job.

Except, when Jess tips her head ever so slightly and looks at her with a thoughtful expression, suddenly it’s not a joke anymore.

After a moment Jess clears her throat slightly, a telling smirk on her face.

‘Could I think about it?’

 

  
*

 

  
Her new office is huge, there’s so much room Lena can’t imagine how she’s going to fill the space.

There’s already a desk waiting for her, and a chair.

Maybe she could get a plant or something, just to add a little bit of colour.

The view is pretty spectacular too; although the building is in the heart of the business district, she still has a view of the city as it slopes off into the green of the suburbs.

More importantly though, more than the size of the office or the view, it’s her own.

It’s hers.

‘Much nicer than the old one,’ Jess comments, coming to stand by her side at the window, folding her arms over her chest.

It should be unnerving really, the way Jess can move around her, as quiet as a breeze. Yet she brings with her such a calming energy, and Lena’s already spent too long feeling alone, so she’s trying, and some days she doesn’t even flinch.

‘So, does it feel good to be back?’ Jess asks her a moment or so later, ‘In National City I mean,’

‘Absolutely,’ she replies — Lena doesn’t even have to think about it.

 

  
*

 

There is a lot of paparazzi.

Like, a lot.

It’s not that she wasn’t expecting there to be, she invited them of course. The last time she had a crowd of photographers and journalists this big, her brother had just been sentenced for one of the worst crimes conceivable and, well.

Lena expected nerves, but what she didn’t expect was a mini panic attack in the restrooms of the downstairs lobby.

Maybe that was naive of her.

She’s desperate to splash cold water on her face, to do something, but she has a full face of make up on and less than 5 minutes to compose herself. Still, when Jess peaks her head around the door and asks, ’Are you ready Ms Luthor?’

She sucks in a long, deep breath, and nods.

‘As I’ll ever be.’

It’s a beautiful day, the sun is shining, not a cloud in the sky, and the moment Lena steps outside, cameras are on her like flies on honey.

For all her worry though, there are far less paparazzi than she had expected. Still, she smiles brightly and steps up to the podium.

The speech she had prepared is already waiting for her on the stand and she recites it perfectly. After a smatter of applause and she opens the floor for questions, that’s when it happens:

‘Kara Danvers, from CatCo World Wide media…’ is what she hears first, the rest she misses completely because after almost two years Kara is here stood amongst the crowd of vultures, smiling up at her with a pen and note pad in hand, a… reporter?

Kara must ask her something—of course she must have, she’s a reporter now—because everyone is looking up at her expectantly and all Lena can do is blink,

‘I’m sorry, can you repeat the question?’

There’s a murmur from the crowd and Kara asks her again, but god, how can she pay attention when Kara is still smiling at her like that?

She gives an answer, whether or not it makes sense or not in relation to the question she doesn’t know.

It must make sense though, because it spurs on another question from the Daily Bugle and she can focus on something other than the blast from the past in the second row, fifth from the left.

Lena answers a few last questions before she thanks everyone for coming, and steps away from the podium.

There’s a heavy security detail, eager to get her back inside of the building and to keep the reporters away, but there’s a need, niggling at the back of her mind to turn around and face the rabble to find Kara, to speak to her.

She pushes it down as far as she can, there was a reason why she cut contact, why she couldn’t accept her friendship.

Except those reasons seem redundant to her now, which is why she finds herself turning to the security behind her, and pushing her way past towards the chatter, the sound of an argument between one of the security guards and a tall blonde reporter who’s explaining ‘I know her, we’re friends,’ and—

‘Kara?’

She raises her eyebrow at the guard, gloating, and Lena can’t control the laugh that bubbles up and out of her mouth.

Kara then turns to face her, a broad and honest smile on her face, outstretching her arms for a much wanted hug.

Lena steps forward with no hesitation, (holding on a little looser than she would have liked to)

‘It’s so good to see you,’ Kara says against her ear. Lena gives her one last squeeze before pulling back to get a longer look, folding her arms over herself,

‘Likewise, the last time we saw each other you were—’

‘Just an assistant?’

‘I was going to say shorter, but…’ Lena jokes, her grin matching Kara’s.

There's so much she wants to say, but god, where would she even begin? How would she begin?

It’s little over a year later, with all of the million and one things that have happened in between, and here they are as if no time has passed.

And unless Kara’s been living under a rock for the past year, she’s bound to know all about everything that’s happened.

Maybe that’s why she’s here; to get the latest scoop from someone who knew Lex the best, just in time for the anniversary of Lex’s incarceration.

An unexpected panic floods through her imminently. It must show, her fear, because the way Kara’s looking at her, with her brows pinched together in concern, makes her feel even worse.

Perhaps she’s being paranoid, except she can’t be sure anymore.

Kara opens her mouth as if to say something when thankfully, in swoops Jess with an apology for interrupting, telling Lena, ‘you have an appointment in five minutes, Miss Luthor,’

She’s never been more grateful for an investors meeting.

Possibly Jess deserves another raise.

‘It was wonderful to see you again, Kara. Take care,’ Lena says shakily, running her hands down her side just for something to do, then starts to walk away with Jess.

‘Wait!’ Kara calls out, ‘Maybe we could meet up? Do coffee?’

‘I’ll check my schedule,’ she promises weakly, although she’s not certain on how likely she is to do so.

 

  
*

 

It’s weird how relaxing she finds meeting with potential investors.

In the boardroom she knows what she’s talking about, and has more than a clue of what she’s doing.

It’s a good enough distraction as any from her personal life, but after the meeting ends (and she’s secured another to finalise the details of their agreement a few weeks later), she finds herself pacing up and down her office.

Too preoccupied to notice or to even care that clouds are coming in dark overhead, a faint sheet of rain is already pouring in the distance, steadily moving towards the city.

Instead she thinks about the unveiling. Or Kara, to be more specific.

The way it felt like no time had passed since they last sat next to each other on the bus, since they were celebrating Kara’s assistant job.

And now she’s a reporter.

Lena can’t help but feel a swell of pride, she feels it more than the fear in her chest, and even more than the embarrassment swirling around in her stomach.

Embarrassed at how quickly she had left, at how hard she had fallen after such a short amount of time, even more so at how quickly those feelings had resurfaced.

Mostly though, she’s ashamed of how quickly her mind goes back to Lex, to the trial, her friends from before and how she’d lost them to gossip and rumours.

Could anyone blame her for being suspicious?

Except, the one thing Lena knew for certain (regardless of their young friendship), was that Kara wore her heart on her sleeve. And in the short time they had known each other, Kara had been a better friend to her than she could have hoped for.

The kind where it had felt like Lena had known for all her life. Was it worth throwing the chance of rekindling their friendship away, all because of fear?

Lena sighs,

‘Jess?’ she calls,

There’s a swift knock on her door, and then her assistant is peaking around the door,

‘Miss Luthor?’

‘Can you get me in touch with Kara Danvers - the reporter that was here, from CatCo?’

‘Well, actually Miss Luthor, Kara Danvers is right outside. Shall I send her in?’

 

  
*

 

Jess closes the door behind her and it’s just her and Kara, stood looking at each other from either side of the room.

‘Hi,’ she says, its simple and friendly… and it’s all she can think of, as Kara stands in front of her as she had earlier in the day.

Looking smart in her buttoned shirt and pencil skirt, her hair tied in a loose plait at the back of her head.

‘Hey yourself,’ Kara grins, and takes a step further into the centre of her office, looking around in amazement, ‘Honestly? Not what I was expecting when you told me about your families business,’

‘What did you think it was I did?’ she asks slowly, and Kara shrugs,

‘I don’t know, I guess… something to do with a pharmaceutical? Like, a store or something,’

A laugh bubbles out of Lena before she can stop it, and she brings her hand to her mouth quickly,

‘A store?!’

‘Well I mean, there was one on the corner where you got off and I kind of just… assumed!’

‘Well,’ Lena chuckles, presenting with a wave of her hand her building, ‘Definitely not a Pharmacy,’

‘No, definitely not,’ she agrees.

An odd expression passes over Kara’s face, like she’s struggling to find the words to say, and then she frowns, ‘Honestly I didn’t think I’d see you again. You kind of just, upped and left without a word,’  
  
‘I think I had a good reason for that,’ she mutters brusquely, folding her arms across her stomach and shifting uncomfortably,

‘Wait no— I didn’t, I’m sorry,’ Kara stammers, ‘I just meant I was worried about you,’

Lena sighs as her gaze drops to the ground, ‘No, I’m sorry,’ she laughs to herself miserably,

‘I don’t think I remember how to speak to people anymore. So much has changed in the past year, it’s hard to accept anybody would actually want to talk to a Luthor, let alone be worried about one. Not after…’

She can’t finish her sentence, and she daren’t look up and see the pity in Kara’s eyes. Instead she unfolds her arms and rests her hand on her leather chair, scratching her nail across it for something to do.

‘Not everything has changed’ she hears, her voice closer now. When Lena finally looks up Kara has rounded her desk, the chair the only thing separating them,

‘I want to talk to you about your company, and my promotion, and… how Hippy Dude from the bus shaved his beard and is actually kind of hot now?’

Lena snorts despite herself. Kara continues, ‘I want to know how you’ve been, what you’ve done. I’ve missed you,’

There’s a beat,

‘I don’t think I can talk about… Metropolis,’

Kara shakes her head fervently,

‘Of course, not if you don’t want to,’

Lena inhales deeply as she nods,

‘I missed you too, you know,’ Lena says calmly— the opposite of how she actually feels— her heart thrumming in her chest.

Kara dips her head bashfully, and it’s almost as though they're back where they started; that day on the bus, meeting for the first time.

‘What’s that?’ She clears her throat and asks, looking down to Kara’s hand wrapped in a fist around the handle of a brown paper bag,

‘Well, we never did get chance to celebrate my new job… And I’m guessing you haven’t had chance to eat yet?’

Lena squints at her, she wasn’t wrong.

Kara places the bag on the desk between them and pulls out a selection of subs and rolls, two salad boxes, and a packet of cookies.

The tension dissipating with every item unpacked.

 

 

*

 

 

Lena sags in her chair, groaning at the amount of food left over, ‘I don’t think I can eat anymore,’

Kara on the other hand is digging into her third sandwich with no signs of slowing down.

‘I’m sure I can find someone to have the rest,’ she answers with a wink

‘Maybe you could have skipped a few of the cookies?’

‘Uh, no, I definitely could not have skipped a few of the cookies,’

‘Still, ten packs is a little bit excessive,’

‘I didn’t know what you’d like and I didn’t want to guess!’ Kara huffs, as if that was a reasonable enough excuse to spend a small fortune (at least she was guessing by the packaging) the Organic Deli across the street.

‘Personally I’m not a fan, but I wanted there to be a selection…’

‘Well, I do like raisins,’ Lena muses, reaching over for one despite her being full.

‘Okay weirdo,’ says Kara, earning herself smack across her bicep.

And then, nearly two hours since Jess had closed the door, the watch on Kara’s wrist begins to bleep and just like that their bubble bursts.

Lena tries to downplay her disappointment, looking around her desk for something to focus on.

Like the stack of documents the different Lines of Business had sent her; she was sure that she had missed her weekly conference call with the heads of Department at least 15 minutes ago, but still, she couldn’t bring herself to care.

Kara, on the other hand, groans loudly as she reads the time.

‘I’m sorry I have to go, Snapper will be— okay no, he won’t be worried, he’ll probably just be mad.’

Lena gawks,

‘Don’t worry, he’s kind of always mad so,’ Kara says, with a shrug.

Lena apologises but Kara waves her off and explains that yes, maybe she was supposed to be in the office an hour ago, but he doesn’t really notice if she’s there or not half of the time,

‘I’m kind of hoping this is one of those times,’ she adds,

‘Thank you, Kara. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much,’

‘Me too, and we’ll definitely do it again, right?’

Kara asks as they're walking to the door, as slowly as possible. Lena nods; they had exchanged numbers again and Kara had whipped her phone out of her hand, and added as many emojis behind her contact name as she could.

Before opening the door, Kara turns to face her and opens her arms, tipping her head tentatively.

Lena smiles and moving into the warm embrace, resting her hands on Kara’s back carefully, the scent of floral fabric softener gives her a sense of déjà vu.

It happens then. So quickly and so softly Lena doesn’t believe it’s actually happening.

Her phone twinkling at the precise moment Kara leans in to peck her cheek politely, and how one slight movement had caught an accidental brush of Kara’s lips against hers.

It’s something Lena has wanted to do since the moment the Reporter had walked into her office, since the day that they had met in fact, and now it’s happening. By accident.

Seconds that feel like minutes tick on, and when Kara is still sort-of resting against her lips, making no attempts to move, her hands run down Kara’s back and fall to her waist, and she sinks deeper into the kiss.

Then comes the gentle touch of Kara’s hands on her face, the soothing touch of her index finger across her flushed cheeks.

Its short and sweet, and leaves her wanting more than she could have imagined. Kara’s eyes flit open, her face only inches away when they part. Close enough that Lena is tempted to kiss her again, Kara’s breath warm and sweet against her.

‘Woah,’ Kara sighs dreamily, still trailing her finger lightly up and down Lena’s cheek, ‘Can I be honest with you?’

Lena nods carefully, unashamed of how her eyes flicker hungrily between Kara’s and her lips, eager to kiss her and be kissed again,

‘I’ve wanted to do that all afternoon,’

‘Really?’ Lena asks, her voice just a whisper.

Kara nods, biting her bottom lip nervously, a widening grin on her face as Lena breathes,

‘I’ve wanted to that since the day we met,’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait for the final chapter. Writing is hard, and finishing a story when you loose motivation is even harder, you know what I mean? It got to a point where I just needed to get it done, so I apologise over how weak the actual plot is. Still, I hope you enjoy it more than I did finishing it haha. Any feedback (constructive or otherwise) is appreciated, of course :)


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